Benjamin Senauer

The Contribution of Genetic Resources and Diversity to Wheat Production in the Punjab of Pakistan

Recent criticisms of the “green revolution” wheats concern the effects of their popularity on crop diversity and the consequences for productivity and conservation. We use a Just-Pope production function to test the relationship of genetic resource and diversity variables to mean and variance of wheat yields in the Punjab of Pakistan. In irrigated areas, greater area concentration among varieties is associated with higher mean yields. In rainfed districts, genealogical variables are associated positively with mean yield and negatively with yield variance. Further research is needed to overcome data limitations, capture biological relationships more accurately, and specify a fuller decision-making model. Copyright 1998, Oxford University Press.

Determinants of the Intrahousehold Allocation of Food in the Rural Philippines

This study shows that the opportunity cost of time for husbands and wives can affect the intrahousehold distribution of food in a developing country. Equations which explain the relative allocation of calories within households were estimated for husbands, wives, and children with data for the rural Philippines. The estimating equation is derivable from both a joint household utility function and a bargaining model. Because the same households were included in the four survey rounds, the various observations for a given individual were averaged for each variable in the estimation procedure. Wages were estimated using the Heckman approach.

Consumer Trends and Changing Food Retailing Formats

Dramatic changes are occurring in the way retail establishments deliver food to consumers, largely in response to dynamic and diverse trends in American lifestyles. Fundamental changes in demographics, labor force participation, and income distribution continue to dictate changes in the food system. The most successful food firms are organized to deliver the most desirable combination of food and service

The Impact of Food Stamps on Food Expenditures: Rejection of the Traditional Model

For food stamp recipients whose normal food purchases exceed their coupon allotment, the traditional economic model predicts that the impact of food stamps on food spending will be the same as for an equal cash transfer. The Tobit analysis in this study indicates that, for these recipients, food stamps have a substantially greater impact on at-home food expenditures than an equal amount of cash income. These results reject the traditional model. Several possible explanations of this behavior are discussed.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Parental Education on Malnutrition among Children in Brazil: A Full Income Approach*

Malnutrition is a major problem among children in developing countries with growth failure affecting an estimated 33% of preschool children in such countries. Findings are reported from a study exploring the effects of parental education upon malnutrition among children age 2-5 years in Brazil. Childrens nutritional status was measured by the Z score of height-for-age weight-for-height and weight-for-age using data from the 1989 Brazilian National Health and Nutrition Survey. The demand functions of mothers and fathers education levels their estimated market wage rates estimated household full income and other factors are estimated with the Z scores as dependent variables. Stunting as reflected in height-for-age was the most serious malnutrition problem among the children. Malnutrition was far more widespread among children of parents with little or no education with parental education having both a direct impact and indirect effects through wages and full income on child health. Primary education of at least four but less than 8 years yielded the only significant direct effect. However higher levels of education had an even greater impact through the indirect effects on wages and full income. The impact of parents value of time on child health was negative while the impact of household full income was positive and predominant. Improved parental education could have a dramatic effect upon reducing malnutrition among preschool children in Brazil.

Global agriculture and carbon trade-offs

Significance We assess how to meet growing demand for agricultural production to minimize impact on the environment. Higher levels of population and affluence may require expanding land in agriculture by converting grasslands and forests to cropland. Such conversions often reduce valuable ecosystem services. Our research identifies where are the best places to expand agricultural production that minimize the loss of one ecosystem service, carbon storage. We show that selectively choosing where to expand agriculture saves over

The Impact of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children on Child Health

1 trillion (2012 US dollars) worth of carbon storage relative to a proportional expansion. Feeding a growing and increasingly affluent world will require expanded agricultural production, which may require converting grasslands and forests into cropland. Such conversions can reduce carbon storage, habitat provision, and other ecosystem services, presenting difficult societal trade-offs. In this paper, we use spatially explicit data on agricultural productivity and carbon storage in a global analysis to find where agricultural extensification should occur to meet growing demand while minimizing carbon emissions from land use change. Selective extensification saves ∼6 billion metric tons of carbon compared with a business-as-usual approach, with a value of approximately

Taste Changes in the Demand for Food by Demographic Groups in the United States: A Nonparametric Empirical Analysis

1 trillion (2012 US dollars) using recent estimates of the social cost of carbon. This type of spatially explicit geospatial analysis can be expanded to include other ecosystem services and other industries to analyze how to minimize conflicts between economic development and environmental sustainability.

Ending Global Hunger in the 21st Century: Projections of the Number of Food Insecure People

Data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey are used to analyze the effect of the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program and other factors on the health of U.S. preschool children. Ordered probit equations are estimated for the physicians overall evaluation of the childs health. The WIC Program has a significant positive impact on the overall health of children. In particular, children in households participating in WIC are significantly more likely to be in excellent health. Increased household income also improves their health. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.

Tourism and poverty reduction: an economic sector analysis for Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

This study uses nonparametric techniques to analyze the stability of demand for nineteen major food categories among various demographic groups in the United States. Households are divided into population groups by income, the heads age, and the spouses education level. The data used are from the 1980–90 “Diary” portion of the Bureau of Labor Statisticss annual Consumer Expenditure Survey. The programming model developed by Sakong and Hayes, with the modifications suggested by Chalfant and Zhang, is used to test for and measure taste changes. Substantial differences in preference trends between population groups are found for many of the food commodities. Copyright 1996, Oxford University Press.